i recently moved to oxford, mississippi to attend graduate school in southern studies, to study the south. and i am on a journey of understanding what that means. what the south means. what it means to study it. and i may or may not find a definite answer. but here i am, nonetheless.
the intention of this blog is to share. to share things i'm learning. to share resources. it may be quite simple. it may be sporatically updated. we shall see what it becomes.
for my foodways class, our first text to read was john egerton's southern food. in his introduction, egerton says:
"taking up pen and fork, i have set about to examine this serious subject in a lighthearted manner, and to explore this most enjoyable activity with the upmost seriousness."
this was said in reference to egerton's endeavor to travel throughout the south, examining - and of course enjoying - southern food. i can recommend the book as a classic text on food history, a thought provoking piece on southern identity, and a resource for traditional recipes. interwoven in the celebratory discussions of food, are those serious subject of race, gender, and class.
i keep pondering that idea of taking up both pen and fork. of existing and participating in a world, but also studying and contemplating it. i keep thinking about the ethics and sensitivities that go along with that. i am still beginning these ponderings and will continue to throughout my graduate school experience, no doubt.
but now feels like the time. not just to pick up the pen. not just to pick up the fork. but to pick them up simultaneously. to immerse in the place i am as i think critically about it.
i attended the otha turner family picnic this weekend - a goat roast and music celebration near como, mississippi - in memory of a fife and drum player from the north mississippi hill country. fife and drum performance alternated with modern blues music throughout the evening. at some point, over the blues music coming from the stage, a fellow student turned to me and said: "my dad always says, when you're doing oral history, you have to ask yourself two things: what is your question? and why do you care?"
those questions stick with me and they will continue to. similarly i am asking: what is the south? and why study it? what are our questions? why do we care?
this weekend i also had the opportunity to ride to sumner, mississippi with other students and professors to visit the emmett till interpretive center, a day after the 60th anniversary of emmett's death. the museum and community space is across the street from the restored courthouse where the trial was held and two white men were wrongly acquitted of emmett's murder. this was 1955. and the moment was a spark in the civil rights movement to come. this story is important to hear.
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| courtroom in sumner, ms |
although there are many words to read and write in this graduate school experience, it is my hope that just of much of my education will also come beyond the classroom. out in the world.
one more recommendation is another classic, the strange career of jim crow by c. vann woodward, originally published in 1955. the same pivotal year emmett till was killed. the book, a collection of lectures from long ago, still holds relevance in its historical analysis of segregation and racism in the south and the country as a whole.
enough for now. do stay tuned.
